[5][6] Marilyn Manson decided to continue the tour and gave the opening act, Monster Magnet, equal billing as co-headliner for Rock is Dead.

[13] Now exercising full control over the tour's itinerary, Manson immediately withdrew Imperial Teen's billing in favor of Grammy-nominated American psychobilly band Nashville Pussy, who took over the opening act slot from Monster Magnet beginning from the April 2, 1999 concert at the Memorial Coliseum in Winston-Salem, North Carolina until the completion of all North American dates on the tour.

During the Cedar Rapids, Iowa, show, Marilyn Manson was surprised to find the Antichrist Superstar logo on his rostrum had been replaced with a smiley face which prompted the lead singer to walk offstage and not return.

Following the aftermath of the Columbine High School massacre in Littleton, Colorado,[14][15] the band canceled the remaining dates of the tour out of respect for the victims, explaining, "It's not a great atmosphere to be out playing rock 'n' roll shows, for us or the fans.

[22][23] Although these claims were later proven to be false (through tapes recorded by the perpetrators),[24] speculation in national media and among the public continued to blame Manson's music and imagery for inciting Harris and Klebold.

[28] A day after the shooting, Michigan State Senator Dale Shugars attended the band's concert, along with policy advisers, a local police officer and the state senate's sergeant-at-arms, at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Michigan to conduct research for a proposed bill requiring parental warnings on concert tickets and promotional material for any performer that had released a record bearing the Parental Advisory sticker in the last five years.

"[20] Finally, he reported the singer recounting a dream sequence in which cops perform sex acts on him before Jesus Christ descended out of a sky made of LSD and told him the real name of God is "Drugs.

[20] On April 25, 1999, longtime music industry critics, Republican former Secretary of Education William Bennett and Democrat US Senator Joseph Lieberman called the group a contributing factor to the massacre during their appearance on Meet the Press.

On April 29, ten US senators (led by Sam Brownback of Kansas) sent a letter to Edgar Bronfman Jr. – the president of Seagram (the owner of Interscope) – requesting a voluntary halt to his company's distribution to children of "music that glorifies violence".

[34] The signatories included eight Republicans and two Democrats namely, US Senators Wayne Allard, Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Susan Collins, Tim Hutchinson, Rick Santorum, Kent Conrad, Byron Dorgan, John Ashcroft and Jeff Sessions.

[25][35] On May 4, a hearing on the marketing and distribution of violent content to minors by the television, music, film and video-game industries was held by the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

The committee heard testimony from former Secretary of Education and Empower America co-founder William Bennett, the Archbishop of Denver Charles J. Chaput, professors and mental-health professionals.

Speakers criticized the band, its label-mate Nine Inch Nails, and the 1999 film The Matrix for their alleged contribution to a cultural environment enabling violence such as the Columbine shootings.

[33] The committee requested that the Federal Trade Commission and the United States Department of Justice investigate the entertainment industry's marketing practices to minors.

"[33] Hilary Rosen, president and CEO of the RIAA, shared this opinion and thought "it was staged as political theater [...] They just wanted to find a way to shame the industry, and I'm not ashamed.

"[33] Senators Brownback, Hatch and Lieberman concluded the proceedings by requesting an investigation from the Federal Trade Commission and the United States Department of Justice on marketing practices of the entertainment industry to minors.

"[37][38] The release of the FTC report on September 13, led Lieberman, by then the vice presidential candidate on the Democratic ticket, and Hillary Clinton to introduce the Media Marketing Accountability Act of 2001 before the 107th United States Congress.